Judges - 4
The Pattern of Spiritual Progress
Are there steps and stages in falling away from God? Are there danger signals we can pay attention to like a car or train stopping at a red light? What alarm bells should we hear so as to know that we are moving away from the Lord? This third chapter of Judges is helpful in pointing out these things to us.
There is a clear pattern in the events of this chapter which is found again and again throughout the book of Judges. This pattern shows how Israel lost its hold on God then found it again. The sequence of events runs as follows: “Rebellion”, “Rejection”, “Repentance”, “Response” (by God) and “Rest”, that is a period of peace and stability.
The opening of Judges chapter three reminds us again that God left the unbelieving nations in place as a chastisement or test for his people. Verse four says, “They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commandments, which He had given their forefathers through Moses.” These nations proved or tested Israel through warfare because God’s people had known peace and quiet, and had become corrupted in those easy times. God wanted to see if they would give attention to all the commandments that He had given to them as his chosen nation. It was not going to be an easy time. There were battles to be fought.
Do you long for things to be easier? Do you wish you were passing through restful, peaceful times? How much easier it would be if everyone else in the family was a follower of the Lord Jesus. Working conditions would be pleasanter if everyone else was sympathetic to Christian values. Life would be less stressful if the people around us were not so competitive, argumentative, self-seeking and materialistic. Look again at these verses. Can it be that God is refining and strengthening you through spiritual warfare and opposition, as He was in those times?
First, then, we come to this stage of Rebellion in Israel, which is in verses five to seven. It happened gradually and therein lies the danger. They gradually became more and more involved with the Canaanite tribes and intermarried with them. That led them to adopt their lifestyle and their religion which was corrupt and immoral. At the heart of it was ritual prostitution which was supposed to make their god Baal bring fertility on the earth. The final stage in this rebellion was that Israel forgot the Lord their God.
The danger is the same today. When Christians get gradually involved in the practices and entertainments of the corrupt world all around - our own “Land of Canaan” - then they too can be corrupted and drawn away from the Lord. We are to be a separate people for the Lord, just as Israel should have been. To be associated with the world around and with its evil practices is rebellion against God and will lead ultimately even to the point of forgetting Him.
The next thing to happen was Rejection by God, not in the absolute sense, but for a time. This was so that Israel would learn from its mistake in going astray. In verse eight we learn, sadly, that God’s anger was directed to his own people because of their wickedness. He allowed them to fall into the hand of an enemy, a Syrian king from Mesopotamia about five hundred miles to the north east. For eight miserable years the Israelites served this overlord, suffering for their folly.
Sometimes the Lord allows us to suffer under the blows of Satan because of our rebellion. We pay this price for drifting away from the Lord. We experience his rejection. We can’t get through to Him in prayer. We can’t seem to get close to Him and we experience defeat at the hands of Satan.
Then comes the turning point, that is to say, Repentance. You find this in verse nine of Judges chapter three: “When they cried out to the Lord, He raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them.” Repentance is a complete change of mind or attitude which leads to a change of conduct. The people of Israel were brought to see how wrong was their rebellion and they cried to the Lord for help and deliverance. If you are a Christian who has rebelled against the Lord and fallen into the ways of the world then there is a way back. It is the way of repentance. There needs to be an earnest and sorrowful seeking after God in true humility. You need to put away those things that have come between you and God, once and for all and cry to Him for help.
If the forces of evil surround you and seem overwhelming at times, is it because you are away from the Lord and need to come back to Him in repentance? This is something that is sadly lacking among many professing Christians today.
Following on from repentance we have a merciful Response from God. Notice again that in verse nine we read of God raising up a deliverer, a judge called Othniel. His uncle was Caleb, one of the few faithful leaders of an earlier generation. The Lord’s response to the genuine cry of repentance from his people was to come to their aid and deliver them from the hand of their enemy.
We learn of Othniel that God’s Spirit came upon him so that he judged Israel, and he led them out to victory against their oppressor. In other words he was equipped by God for two daunting tasks so that he accomplished them both effectively. The work of leading a company of God’s people today is no work for spiritual lightweights. It is not just a matter of getting up at the front and leading the singing. Nor is it impressing people with a good flow of words that captivates the hearers. What is needed is someone who knows God and knows the Scriptures. The battle requires strong, mature Christians who have the blessing of God on their lives and teaching. Without this spiritual endowment a work may appear to be going on, but no great or lasting benefit will flow from it. God equips those He calls to his work, granting them the power of his Holy Spirit. A truly spiritual leader will lead God’s people to victory by the faithful application of God’s word to his own life and that of his people.
The final feature of this spiritual progress from rebellion and rejection through repentance and God’s response is Rest. Verse eleven of Judges chapter three tells us that the land had rest for forty years and then Othniel died. God is merciful and grants us times of rest and peace. In Isaiah chapter thirty, verse fifteen we read these words: “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength….’” In this fallen, evil world we are never far away from hatred and hostility. Do not be surprised when you meet it, and especially so if it comes because you are a Christian. God may grant you quietness and a placid life, but above all else pray for boldness and steadfastness in the face of opposition. True rest will only come when all our spiritual warfare is at an end.
As we come to verse twelve we read: “Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Here is the same sad story of rebellion after being blessed by God. This time it was the Moabite king, Eglon, who was raised up to chasten the Israelites for eighteen long years. Once more in mercy God responded to the cry of his people by raising up a left-handed warrior. He was Ehud of the tribe of Benjamin, and the Lord used him to lead the people to victory over their Moabite enemies. After this the land enjoyed peace for eighty years. What a mighty blessing that must have been considering that under Othniel the period was but forty years.
This, then, is the pattern of spiritual progress, moving from rebellion through rejection to repentance, then God’s response and finally rest. That pattern is seen later in other parts of the book of Judges. You will be able to trace it quite clearly as you read it through for yourself. If you can, look over chapter three again and try to recognise where you are or where your church is in this matter of spiritual progress. Are you experiencing victory in your life, or are you under the oppression of the enemy because of disobedience? Seek the Lord for his deliverance from the spiritual enemies who may be oppressing you just now.